Eggcorn Forum

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Registrations were closed for a long time because of forum spam, but I have re-opened them on a trial basis.

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I’m not getting a dig at the scene, just pointing out it gets a bum rep because of these idiots. Putting that aside, can you recommend any club nights to …www.altnation.com/forums/electronica-da … error.html – 62k – Supplemental Result – Cached – Similar pages

The similarity between “rap” meaning “blame” or “criticism”, and “rep” meaning “reputation”, I think makes the case of an eggcorn stronger. I don’t believe the understanding of “rap” as slang is as commonplace as the understanding of the word “reputation”. In this context “rap” could easily be misunderstood to have been uttered “rep”- a classic method of eggcorn creation.

Re: "a bum rep" vs. "a bum rap"

I think this eggcorn was inevitable the minute street-talking people started using “rep” as shorthand for “reputation.” It was only a matter of time before the adjective “bum” joined up with it …and was subliminally reinforced by the already-existing “bum rap” construction. So, that’s my take on the sequence of things.